Special Op: Bomber: The Daring Missions That Changed the Shape of WWII

Steve Darlow has mainly written books on RAF ops in WWII. With SPECIAL OP: BOMBER, published by England's David & Charles Ltd. in 2008, he broadens his scope to describe ten "daring (RAF/USAAF bomber) missions that changed the shape of WWII." Air combat fans will want to have a look; the book is gripping reading. Darlow does a good job of describing the ten missions, relying heavily on first-person accounts by various aircrew that flew on the strikes. Some of these reminiscences have been previously published; others are from archives, websites, etc. Whatever their source, they give the reader a from-the-cockpit view of some very hairy missions. If I could, I would have given Darlow's book 4 1/2 stars. I enjoyed reading SPECIAL OP: BOMBER but question whether all ten missions rate the "special op" designation. The Dambusters mission, the Amiens jail strike and the first RAF 1,000-plane raid certainly qualify. Perhaps the Peenemunde and Tirpitz raids count as well. However, to my mind, the other five missions - the RAF strikes against the German barges during the Battle of Britain, Second Schweinfurt, the first American raid on Berlin, the 'Big Week' strike on Gotha and the RAF night strikes in support of D-Day were "routine" ops part of the Allied air campaign. In any case, air combat fans will enjoy SPECIAL OP: BOMBER with its exciting tales of brave bomber crews fighting their way through German flak and fighters to hit their targets. Recommended.

"Special Op: Bomber" is an account of ten of the most daring raids over Europe during World II flown by the British Royal Air Force and the United States (Army) Air Force. "There was nothing like it before and there has been nothing like it since. The air battle over Europe during World War II was exceptional." So begins "Special Op: Bomber." The ten Special Operations include the first thousand bomber raid, the dambusters, the second raid on Schweinfurt, the Peenemunde raid, the Amiens Prison raid, Big B: Americans over Berlin and the sinking of the Tirpitz, a German battleship. All the stories are well researched, factual, and told with a dramatic flair. For the World War II buff, this is like putt-putt in the ocean, but the author kept the writing clean, and well, by gosh, it was the biggest war in which we fought. It reads good at the cabin on a cold spring evening. The book is told by the men who experienced the raids, giving it the official imprimatur. Richard N. Larsen Reviewer